Writing is the other side of reading, and yet it is driven by the same emotions. A lot like life, also full of emotions.
We thrive on feeling these ups and downs, like we would on a roller coaster ride. But unlike a roller coaster which has predicted turns and rolls, life is completely chaotic. And that can be trying if you’re not prepared for that unexpected sharp turn and drop into an unforeseen void. So why do we keep coming back?
When you find a good book, you read it until you reach the end. Hopefully, you find something within the words that resound in your own life. No, we don’t wish for vampires, zombies, and other such creatures who lurk in the deepest darkest regions of our minds. But we do look for answers to those troubling questions that plague our waking (and sleeping hours), which sort of feel like creatures of the night. And if our favorite books turn into series (long or short, whichever you want), then we are more excited to delve into a world created from a mind that might be different from our own but feels like home.
But here’s another thought: When life is so full of trials and tribulations, do we really have to always force our heros and heroines to experience those lowest of lows that make us curl into a ball and howl? As someone who writes, I know that the words that hit home comes from emotions that tear at the soul. But sometimes, the soul can only take so many tears before the fabric can no longer retain the same resilience. As living beings, we’re tested on a daily basis through different circumstances. No two people will experience the same feelings or reach the same outcomes. We are too complex for duplications, though we do experience similar motivations to succeed or fail. But I’m sure that we all feel like a break would be welcome – maybe one filled with a little early happiness for once.
And that brings me back to all of my favorites books written by authors who are all so very different, though driven by similar compulsions. Thank you for pushing these characters to reach beyond themselves, and pushing for excellence. We have so little excellence in places that are supposed to help change all of our lives for the better. But can we have a few more unicorns and rainbows – even gargoyles can play on rainbows? My chest hurts every time a piece of their heart is torn out. And no, an unexpected stumble is not the same as keeping the hero and heroine together (yes, I get that my favorite paring might not be yours). Please?
We need to allow more time for dreams, and less time for embracing reality. We all know that reality is not all that it’s cracked up to be. There aren’t enough boot straps to string together to build sturdy bridges over the torrents of trouble that rumble across the planet. If more dreams came alive from books, then life would be pushed towards true excellence. You don’t have to believe in magic for it to live. Look at a picture. Smell a flower. Marvel at a bumblebee. Sit in a tree. We’re surrounded by magic that we’re not allowed to appreciate because someone’s always telling us to keep working, do more, focus on the bottom line.
The bottom line is that creativity has always gotten us to dream big. We fly over so many other planets in our solar system. We’ve actually left our system (you’re amazing, Voyager 1) and are in the true unknown. Can you imagine what that little craft is seeing and experiencing? No realist can ever come up with a close description of something that has never happened before in our lives. Â And there are more “voyagers” who want to explore to grow. All of the naysayers in our world will never shut out the light of curiosity. The one thing that life will always guarantee is that every experience is an opportunity for magic.
Now, don’t you want to try your hand at creating your own magic?
